Vaccine denialism was a problem during the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918.
In the eighties, I remember that Christian Scientists would refuse medical treatment for their dying children, choosing to pray instead. The kids usually died.
There was always a subset of the population who refused to acknowledge science or expertise.
These days, we’ve gotten rid of the government departments of experts that are supposed to advise our legislators regarding the consequences of the bills they want to pass. Instead they just listen to the lobbyists of the corporations who finance their campaigns.
Or in the case of Trump, his own imagination, since he hallucinates more than Google Gemini. A recent example is his belief that the CHIPS act requires the hiring of trans folk to run microchip-making factories. (It doesn’t. Also the rumor that he confused transgender with transistor is probably false.)
Vaccine denialism was a problem during the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918.
In the eighties, I remember that Christian Scientists would refuse medical treatment for their dying children, choosing to pray instead. The kids usually died.
There was always a subset of the population who refused to acknowledge science or expertise.
These days, we’ve gotten rid of the government departments of experts that are supposed to advise our legislators regarding the consequences of the bills they want to pass. Instead they just listen to the lobbyists of the corporations who finance their campaigns.
Or in the case of Trump, his own imagination, since he hallucinates more than Google Gemini. A recent example is his belief that the CHIPS act requires the hiring of trans folk to run microchip-making factories. (It doesn’t. Also the rumor that he confused transgender with transistor is probably false.)